Crimsontree
by crazysockmonkeys
Summary: Niles Crane has just been switched from a psychiatrist to a spy for a nameless corporation. What adventures will he embark on, and what will happen when he meets his new partner?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: *Sigh* Well, I was trying to finish all of my in-progress stories before I posted a new one, but I pretty much gave up when I got this idea. I'm pretty excited to share it with you! Please enjoy it!**

* * *

"I don't understand. I'm happy in the job I have now, why are you moving me?"

"You have proven to be exactly what we're looking for, Dr. Crane."

"I really think you must be making a mistake. I'm not that sort of person."

"But you are," Agent Ellis said. "More than you know. You've been through all the training; you know what we do. You look like the average person, and I know you'll be capable of more than you can imagine as time passes. You underestimate yourself, Dr. Crane. Besides, we know of someone who can take your place, and we're running low on field agents."

Niles sighed. He couldn't believe this was happening. Just a few minutes ago, he had been the psychiatrist _for _the agents, and now he _was_ an agent. A spy.

"Well, I suppose I don't have much of a choice. I'll have to take your word for it." He reached out and shook Agent Ellis's hand, and she smiled.

"Welcome, Agent Crane."

* * *

Crimsontree Publishing hardly ever hired, never accepted manuscripts, and didn't publish anything. Crimsontree Publishing wasn't anything. It was a façade, an empty cover for the agency that had no name. It had offices all around the world under false names that all sounded similar: Creamlife Packaging, Pinksun Technologies, Goldroot Fabrics. They were small places that no one much paid attention to and no one ever had a reason to visit, which made it perfect for its overall goal: total and complete secrecy.

Niles had enjoyed being a psychiatrist there for a few years now, and he still didn't understand why they had chosen him to be an agent. It made no sense to him. Yet he had no excuse not to do it, and he wasn't about to quit. So he decided to try as best he could.

And he did. The next few weeks he was given training about how to be in the field and how to act in the field. He was told how to use certain weapons and use expensive tools, and even though he was terrible with all of them, he did his best to remember their purposes.

A month passed, and it was decided that Niles was finally ready.

That night he went home, and as he poured himself a glass of sherry and sat down on the couch, he picked up the phone and called Frasier. After exchanging small talk, Niles finally said, "Frasier, they say I'm ready. They say I can start tomorrow and go on my first mission next week." He sounded like a small child as he spoke.

"Niles, do you really think you'll be any good at this? The image of you being a spy is…almost humorous."

"Perhaps so, but the more I get into it the more fascinating it gets. I'm beginning to think that Agent Ellis was correct, I am going to be good at this."

"All right, then."

"Although, it does raise a few concerns in my mind."

"Like…"

"Like how on earth I am going to be able to use weapons and all of those gadgets they assign me."

"Don't worry Niles, I don't think they're used all that often."

Frasier also worked as a psychiatrist, but for a different branch. That was how Niles had gotten into the whole agency, by way of family. His father was a part of it, as was his mother.

"I certainly hope so. Also, you know how terrible I am at sports and much of anything…physical."

"You won't go on missions where you're chased by criminals right away, Niles. You'll work your way into those. They'll start you off slow. Don't make me tell you this, you already know."

"I do know it all, Frasier, but now it's different. I haven't even told you the part I'm most nervous about."

"What's that?"

"They're…sending over a partner for me. With my luck, I'll get some cocky, know-it-all muscular type who will want nothing to do with me."

"Now, you don't know that. Niles, all in all I don't think you have a very positive attitude and therein lies the problem. Be optimistic."

"Thank you, Frasier," Niles said, not quite sure if he could follow his brother's advice or not.

The next morning, he rose bright and early, put on his usual attire of a tie and jacket, then drove to the Crimsontree building where his authority was waiting for him. "Good morning, Agent Crane. Ready to begin?" asked Agent Ellis.

"I…yes, I do believe I'm ready."

"Terrific. I need you to come into my office first and fill out some paperwork."

Agent Ellis's office was so clean that everything shone slightly, and it smelled like paper and the cinnamon candle she kept on her desk. She explained what the papers meant and Niles signed them faithfully, and she tucked them away in a manila folder that on the tab read:

CRANE, NILES  
WORK DETAIL  
CRIMSONTREE BRANCH

Niles had seen that folder before, in fact he could remember Agent Ellis making the label herself when he had first came to work here. He had sat in this very chair, only that time she had lit a candle that smelled like fresh berries. _Why do I even remember that? Ah yes, scent goes hand in hand with memory._

"Agent Crane? Did you hear me?"

For a moment, Niles looked up at Agent Ellis and remembered what it was he was actually doing. Her face was a fresh sort of face, sharp perhaps, with small, precise features. She had red hair just past her shoulders, yet no freckles, and she dressed practically. She was friendly, outgoing, and in love with being neat and clean. Niles had always liked her.

"Uh, no, pardon me," said Niles. "What were you going to say?"

"We're done here. I suppose it's time I introduced you to your new partner. She was just transferred her from the London branch."

_She? London?_

"Follow me, I think she's waiting in the East Wing lobby if I remember correctly." Agent Ellis tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear and began to stroll down the hallway. Niles was ever curious, yet ever frightened. He didn't know what to do with his hands, or his eyes for that matter, so he stared at the floor and kept his hands attached to his side. His heart beat in his chest. He knew they were in the East Wing lobby now, he could tell by the color of the granite floor.

Suddenly, he heard Agent Ellis speak. "Agent Crane, I'd like for you to meet your new partner, Agent Daphne Moon."


	2. Chapter 2

When Niles finally did look up to face his partner, he found suddenly that he was having trouble breathing.

_Oh mama, she's beautiful. Like an angel. Heaven-sent. _

She was tall, with long, brown hair and dark eyes, and she was wearing a white, button-down shirt and a knee-length shirt with back heels. Niles thought everything about her was perfect before he even heard her speak, and his heart raced to glance upon her.

_Surely she cannot be my partner. That would too much of a good thing to be happening to me. Ah yes, this must be a dream._

"Hello," said Daphne, sticking her hand out. Her voice and lovely accent rang in Niles's ears as he reached out and shook her hand. "Hello," he said, a huge smile on his face. "I…it's a pleasure to meet you!" He knew from the second their hands touched that it wasn't a dream.

Agent Ellis knew what was going on immediately. Although she wasn't terribly well versed in romance, or for that matter, the patrons involved, she knew Niles found Daphne attractive, if this wasn't love at first sight. "Well, excuse me," she said to the two of them. "I've got a lot of work to do today, so I'll leave you two alone to get better acquainted." When she was positive that Daphne was not looking, she winked at Niles, and he scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment; then watched her leave.

"Would you like to go get something to eat? I haven't had breakfast yet," Daphne said.

"I would love to," Niles said, feeling lighter than foam.

They began to walk through the building to the coffee shop on the first level, Daphne's heels clacking against the hard floor all the way. "I like this branch much better than the one in London. Everything is so much more illuminated and fancy. Of course, the dress code is a lot stricter here. I wouldn't be wearing this sort of thing usually. But I even like the name of this one better. Crimsontree Publishing. It already sounds so sophisticated. Much better than Orangemorning Timepieces." She smiled at Niles, and his heart glowed. "Me mum thought I was crazy when I told her I was going to work at a place that made clocks. I would never have worked there if it had actually been what the name said! But every time she calls me, I report that things are going well. It's funny how much I have to make up about Orangemorning to answer her questions. Well, I guess you have to tell your family the same things."

"Actually," Niles began, "all of my family works for the agency, so I don't have to keep anything a secret."

"Oh, that would be nice! But I suppose you'd still have to make up things like that for your friends."

_I wonder how long it will be before she finds out I don't have any._

"Um, yes," he said.

By this time, they had arrived at the coffee shop, and they ordered and sat down. "Café Nervosa," Daphne said, reading the sign. "That's a unique name. The café at Orangemorning didn't really have a name."

"Ah, it's my haven. I can't tell you how many drinks I've purchased here over the past few years."

She smiled again. "Well, I hear you're just starting off as an agent. What were you doing here before that?"

"I was a psychiatrist for the agents here. I was rather surprised whenever they told me I was to be an actual agent. As you might have been able to tell already, I'm not the sort of bold person most of the agents seem to be."

"Oh, now, now," Daphne said, laying her hand on top of his. Niles's heart began to beat in his ears and he could feel it in his whole body, the quickening thumping noise that seemed to be getting louder. "You may be a little shy, but it's much too early for that kind of talk! You seem like you'd make an excellent spy. After all, you're polite and courteous, and I know that you'll fit in with the fancy people we'll be with."

Her hand moved on his slightly and it sent jumps up his spine and the feeling of her touch spread through him faster than he could have ever imagined.

_Oh…what is she doing to me? _

"Thank you, Agent Moon."

"Please, it's Daphne. May I call you Niles?"

"Y-yes," he said.

"Lovely." They had their coffees now, and Daphne was eating a scone. He watched her eat it, studying her lips as they moved. He prayed she wouldn't notice. He tried not to, but his eyes drifted over her body slowly for perhaps the hundredth time in the past five minutes. His cheeks felt warm and his legs were shaky. His heart had not quieted down just yet.

_Niles, you are acting like an adolescent. Deal with the situation at hand and stop…daydreaming. She is your partner and you are here for—that's right—WORK._

"So, do you know what work will need to be done for our first mission next week, or what our mission is?" He asked her while he tried to calm himself down.

"Agent Ellis told me that we're going to a dinner for people involved in drug exporting. I've done it a few times before. Basically, for the next few days we'll have to be doing some research on who's who and what will go on. It gets rather boring, as you can imagine, but you'll get used to it."

"Ah, thank you. Have you had to use any…weapons before?"

She smiled. "A few times, yes. I can hardly keep them all straight, though!"

"Neither can I. I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to use all of them. That's another thing I'm worried about."

"You don't need to be worried about anything. You should have seen me when I first started out! I was a mess! But I had a partner, and she knew exactly what to do with me and how to handle me, and soon I was running in high heels, chasing after terrorists with a pistol!" She chuckled.

"Wow!" said Niles with a huge smile.

_She's beautiful. And wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better person to start out with. Look at her smile! And her laugh! And the way she does…everything. And her…her body…_

The sweat beads from the back of his neck had disappeared for just a minute, but they were there again as Niles felt the color in his cheeks return and his hands began to shake.

_This again?_

"Niles, are you all right?" Daphne asked, looking at the trembling hands that were holding his coffee mug.

He felt paralyzed for a moment, unable to communicate. "I…I…"

"Nervous, I suppose. You're going to be all right, Niles, I promise you. In fact, why don't we go to your office and start studying? It might get your mind off whatever's making you so apprehensive."

She took him by the arm and began to lead him out of the Café. Her hand burned into his skin. They were close. He could smell her now, a sweet scent that emitted from her. Niles took full, deep breaths, and began to relax himself. He focused on the scent, and he felt fine.

"I…I'm feeling much better now, Daphne," he told her. "You know, I think this might work out after all, me being an agent."

"_Now that you're here, I don't have to be as afraid as I was. I've never met anyone like you, Daphne. You're…you're…I can't even describe you, but I've just met you, and already you've become one of the most important people in my life."_


	3. Chapter 3

It was a perfect night, a night that glowed and shined above the rest. Niles' heart fluttered.

His first mission.

He had been told all about it; it wouldn't be too complicated, yet to even think about the danger that should await him if he was found out made him dizzy. Although it comforted him to think that Daphne would be by his side, he still couldn't help but think about how frightening it would be.

Now, he was driving to Daphne's apartment building to pick her up and drive to their destination with her. When he got there, she was sitting on the front steps. Standing up, she walked over to Niles' car, opened the door and sat down. "Well?" She asked. "Are you ready?"

Niles was too distracted staring at her in her stunning midnight-blue evening gown to answer. "Hmm?" he said.

"Are you ready for tonight?"

"Oh, um, yes." He started up the car and began to drive.

Their location was, surprisingly, a country club ballroom. Although more often than not, agents' missions were staged in remote, unknown areas, this was different. The organization masqueraded as a different company, so the chances of getting caught were small, or so they thought. In truth, one of the lesser-known members had been caught weeks ago and through him they had received minimal information. It was the job of Niles and Daphne to find out more in order to figure out the best way to go about navigating to their headquarters and locating the drugs they were importing and exporting.

When they had arrived at the ballroom, Niles began to relax a little bit. It looked much like the soirées he often attended. Before he had worried about standing out, but it seemed now that he was so accustomed to being at parties such as these that there was no way he possibly could.

It was mostly men there, with the occasional woman in a charming cocktail dress walking around with an elegantly poured drink in her hand. Everyone was talking like old friends, laughing at each other's jokes plainly. A string quartet played near the center of the room. The ceilings were high and the room glowed with fresh, golden light.

"Who am I again?" Niles asked Daphne, even though he already knew the answer.

"James Lewis," she whispered. He had been the man who had gotten arrested a few weeks before. "And I'm Angelina Williams."

"Right," he said. They linked arms and walked in.

Many people approached Niles and Daphne, shaking their hands and introducing themselves to them. Some pretended that they already knew them, which the two agents found quite amusing. After a suitable period of mingling, dinner finally began.

There were tables set up in a different part of the room, all round and each with seven chairs. After everyone had their seats, a man in stylish dress walked to the front of the room, got a microphone, and began to speak. He was a normal-looking, short man with hair like dirty snow. When he spoke he spoke softly and firmly, with a sweeter tone than most men. "Thank you all for joining us this evening," he said. "We are very pleased to have everyone here for a time of business and a time of fellowship with one another. As always, we thank you for your faithfulness to our development." He paused for a moment and cleared this throat. "I know that there have been rumors among us that our little industry has been divulged. I do not believe this to be true, but even if it is, we must support each other and be strong! I have always said we are as one family, and as such we shall be, permanently!" Applause was heard from all corners of the room. Niles was surprised to be hearing the sorts of things from the man's mouth, but from the look on Daphne's face he could tell that she was not.

_You are buying into stereotypes too quickly. Now you know what to expect._

The man up front dismissed them to eat, and waiters began to dispense dinner.

Niles and Daphne introduced themselves to the people at their table, three men and two women. Of the five, only two intended on talking, and their names were Gregory and Roberta.

Roberta was middle-aged, with graying hair mixed in with blonde, and vibrant blue eyes, and Gregory was young, handsome, and dressed very smartly.

"Brenton was rather nervous today," said Roberta. "Where were the jokes? You know, the awful ones," she said, winking at Niles.

"Is that the man who was speaking just now?" asked Daphne.

"Yes," Gregory chimed in. "Brenton Jefferson. He's the one who started this whole thing. Usually he's more comfortable up there, but not tonight."

Slowly, Daphne reached for her purse and drew out a piece of paper and a pen, and when no one was looking, she wrote down the name. "This is going to be ten times easier when Niles gets to use the recording devices," she thought. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be for a few more missions.

"Well, he tells _the _more horrendous jokes you'll ever hear in your life, and everyone has to pretend to laugh their heads off! I'm surprised you haven't told Angelina about it, James," Roberta said.

"I suppose there hasn't been much of an opportunity for me to," said Niles.

"I'll bet you Benton's nervous," Gregory said. "About the rumors."

"What are the rumors?" asked Niles. "I haven't heard anything."

"Someone got the word out that the government knows about us and it's just a matter of time before they close in," Roberta said.

"I can see why he would be nervous," Niles said, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Roberta just nodded.

"So," Gregory began, "what is the relationship between you two?"

Daphne grabbed Niles' hand and squeezed it tightly. "We're engaged."

Niles' heartbeat increased tenfold.

"Ah, well no wonder you know about all of this," Gregory said. "I have a girlfriend myself, and things are getting rather serious. I'm going to have to tell her about all of this soon, but I'm not sure how. There is so much at stake."

What Daphne had learned in her experience is that time was limited and she had to make the most of her time. They had tried to study everything about the development the week before, but so little was known that it hadn't really helped them much. She had the advantage, she knew. She was the fiancée, the one who had just come and was curious and what they did there. She could ask too many questions if she wanted to under the right light and no one would suspect anything.

"Just asking, where do you all usually meet?" Daphne questioned.

"Depends on the day," said Roberta. "If you're talking about the merchandise, it's in a warehouse downt-"

Gregory shushed her. "Remember the rumors, Roberta."

"That's exactly what they are, rumors and rumors only," she said. "I'm not sure why anyone is paying attention to them anyway, we've had scares before and _nothing_ has ever become of them."

"I'm just saying, you can never be too careful."

For the next half hour, Daphne tried to ask as many questions as she could without seeming suspicious. As Niles relaxed, he talked more and they could tell that Gregory and Roberta began to really like them. The agents were fruitful; they received names and even several locations.

As they went home that evening, Daphne asked Niles, "What did you think of your first mission?"

"It was thrilling, but I must admit rather fear-inducing."

"You'll get used to it and it won't be so bad."

"Daphne…I never told you all evening how lovely you look in that dress…or just in general." Niles' cheeks got red for the hundredth time since he had met Daphne.

"Thank you, Niles. You looked very nice yourself."

They were silent for a little while until Niles stopped in front of Daphne's apartment building, and before she got out, Niles told her, "Daphne, thank you for everything. I wouldn't be able to do this without you. I really…enjoy working with you."

"_In more ways than one."_

Daphne smiled. "I really like working with you too, Niles. You're such nice man. And you're welcome. It's my pleasure to make you feel better about working."

She touched his shoulder briefly and he closed his eyes, taking in the way it felt. Her touch went through his jacket and shirt, sinking into his skin and sending a shiver down his spine. "Goodnight, Niles," she said.

"Goodnight, Daphne. Pleasant dreams."

Stepping out of the car, she waved to him and then went inside.

Niles sighed as he watched her leave. He still had to go back to Crimsontree and deliver the information they had received. He was already exhausted from his exciting night, but his time with Daphne gave him something to think about and something to keep alert for.


	4. Chapter 4

As Niles arrived at Crimsontree, he realized that he didn't have any idea what was going to go on or how he was going to report anything. As he walked inside the building, the hush that fell over the place in the evening welcomed him and he proceeded to the third floor and walked to Agent Ellis's office.

She was waiting for him and trying to look occupied, but he could tell when he walked in that she wasn't actually doing anything. "Hello there, Agent Crane," she said when she saw him. "How did it go this evening?"

"It went very well, thank you."

"I'm glad. I was thinking about the two of you. I trust that Daphne kept you in check."

"Yes, yes she did."

Agent Ellis couldn't help but smile. For the past few days she had watched Niles as he acted like an insane, lovesick fool around Daphne. Her more spirited side had won out in her, and she found herself ever hopeful that perhaps a romance would take place, although in its bare nature it was highly unprofessional.

Niles saw her expression and felt dearly embarrassed. "I suppose you probably know about my feelings for…" He cleared his throat and trailed off.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's really none of my business." She picked up a pen and tried to start writing on a form she had just gotten out. Pressing her lips together, she didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she ran out of it.

"It can be your business," Niles said to her. "If you would like it to be."

She exhaled and decided to allow herself. "I know I probably shouldn't be saying this…but why aren't you going for it? I mean, if you really have this much…feeling for her, then why aren't you pursuing her?"

"I do understand your point, but I don't know her very well just yet, and even though I can't get her out of my head and her touch is enough to disable me…her eyes are like the finest mahogany and her scent is like the sweet perfume of the gods…" He let his mind wander for a little bit and then snapped back into reality. "You understand what I'm saying."

"I suppose so," she said. "However, perhaps it would be best to date her now while you are early in your relationship, so that you don't develop a strong friendship and it becomes terribly awkward for her to date you. But don't listen to me about these little things. I don't know very much about dating or romance, and you're an intelligent psychiatrist. And…we should get back to work now."

She instructed Niles to fill out a report form with lots of space for details about the people he met and what he discovered. It took him awhile to complete it, and meanwhile Agent Ellis busied herself with some other work.

When he was done, he handed it to her, and he watched as she carried it down the hall and delivered it to a man a few doors down. When she returned, she said, "Everything's done. Have a good rest of your night."

"You too, Agent Ellis."

"You know Agent Crane, this may not be professionally correct, but you can call me Denise if you want."

"All right. Feel free to call me Niles."

"I will, then." She smiled.

* * *

As soon as Niles got home, the phone rang, and when he answered it he was surprised to find that it was his father.

"Hi, son," he said. "How did things go tonight?"

"Unseasonably well, thank you!"

"That's great, Niles. I knew it would be. How's things with your new partner?"

_Well. Better than well. Outrageously well. If it gets any more well I may go crazy._

"Everything's fine, Dad. I'm actually starting to enjoy it."

"I knew you would. Ah, I remember being a young agent. I always got really lucky going on missions, cause so many of the girls wanted to talk to me." He laughed. "Of course, later on I'd end up arresting all of them, but it was nice to get the attention."

"Dad, it's a good thing they didn't give me your old job."

Martin Crane had been a police officer for years before the agency had contacted him and he began to work for it. He was the sort of agent who went in undercover and after a certain amount of time began to make arrests. Niles would have been destroyed to do such a thing.

"Well, I'm proud of you for doing the job you're in now. It's about time one of my sons did something like this. I'm getting sleepy, goodnight son."

"Goodnight, Dad."

Niles hung up the phone and got ready for bed; then turned off the light. He lied there for a few minutes, imagining Daphne again. It was so easy to picture her lying next to him in bed as he listened to her even breath as she slept.

But he had only known her for a week. It was silly to be thinking about such a thing as marriage now.

It certainly wasn't normal, he knew that.

He felt like he had known her for so long, in fact he had felt that way from the first time he had met her, and somehow the past few days had seemed like years. He couldn't possibly wait for her any longer!

_You will have to. And if you really love her, the waiting won't matter._

Suddenly, Niles knew that the answer truly was waiting, and although it wasn't exactly the answer he wanted, he went to sleep with a satisfied mind.


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks passed, and Niles and Daphne went on three more missions. For each, Niles became more comfortable and as time went on he became more pleased with himself as an agent. Daphne was very glad to see these things in Niles, and the more time she spent with him the more fondness she developed for him.

They were friends, she told herself. Perhaps they had always been friends, but now she knew it for sure.

Niles was thrilled with her newfound causality with him. It was lovely to hear her speak to him about the things occurring in her life. To know that Daphne trusted him was wonderful.

On the night of their fifth adventure, the sky was cloudy and darker than usual. A light shined through the bog of clouds where the moon laid, and mist fell on windshields and stuck onto blades of grass. Niles and Daphne were set to go to a location downtown, a back room of sorts for a party.

This was more dangerous, because they knew absolutely nothing about the place they were going except for where it was. Even though Daphne had already done this sort of thing before, it still made her nervous. Their chances of being caught had practically tripled.

Just in the last mission had she and Niles been allowed to use recording devices, and this time they had been allotted a handgun, which Niles was quite apprehensive about. Although he had been properly schooled in the way to use it, just the idea that something that could kill someone was located on his ankle frightened him, and he prayed he wouldn't have to use it. This made Daphne scared as well. She had learned enough about Niles to figure out that he would need all the encouragement and help that he could get.

When they arrived at the room they were told to find, they were surprised to see what it looked like, for it was set up like a festive party. The lighting was dim and strings of lights hung from the ceiling. Paper lanterns were set up in various parts of the room, and tables with finger foods were at every corner. Daphne smiled. The way the large room looked made her feel more comfortable somehow. She took Niles's arm just as usual and together they strolled in.

She and Niles had lately been working on becoming friendlier with the people around them, saying hello and so forth. It helped them to blend in better, to be seen but ignored by the guests. However, as usual, they found a few people to help them and either Niles or Daphne would ask a few questions, but never too many. It was from these people that they got most of their information.

Today those people happened to be two tough-looking men who towered over Niles fiercely, and he was half inclined to cringe from looking at them, but they were friendly enough, and from them they received all the information they could need. They spoke about how difficult work had been lately, how the women had set up the party, and how different their new cars were. From what they had heard so far, Daphne suspected that these people where involved with the mafia.

"You two are a couple, right?" said one about Niles and Daphne.

"Yes," said Niles.

"You guys certainly don't act like it. Look at you, standing a foot apart, not even looking like you know each other. Why, if I had to say-"

Before he could get out another word, Daphne threw herself at Niles and kissed him.

For Niles, the entire room suddenly disappeared, and the sounds of the people around him talking diminished. Daphne was kissing him hard and giving him everything, holding nothing back. Her hands stuck to the sides of his face and he could feel the rising and falling of her body against his.

This was the kind of kiss he had been dreaming of. And what to do with it? He wanted to kiss back so much, and it would look more natural to do it that way, but part of him wondered if she would sense his passion for her if he really did.

The decision was made for him when he couldn't take it any longer and he did kiss her back wholeheartedly, slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her in, and he didn't stop until she let go.

When she did, he felt dazed but unsatisfied because she hadn't really meant it. It was the most phenomenal feeling he had gotten in ages but it had been fake, staged, and he could tell. His head spun out of control and he was having trouble standing up suddenly. He heard Daphne talking with the men and laughing, but he felt so faint that he couldn't understand them.

"Niles? Niles, are you all right?" She asked.

He thought his knees were going to cave in for a moment, but soon he began to see things more clearly and his body recovered. "I'm fine…darling."

"I guess I gave him a little too much of a thrill," she said, smiling provocatively at him.

Niles chuckled nervously.

Daphne said goodbye to the two men, took Niles by the hand, and led him outside. The cool air soothed his overheated cheeks and as did the sprinkling rain.

Once they were in the car, Daphne said, "Oh Niles, I'm so sorry I had to do that. I was just getting nervous, the way they were talking, and before I knew it I was…you know."

_I certainly do._

"It must have really surprised you! No wonder you looked like you were about to fall over for a minute there."

Niles was sitting in the passenger's seat, still recovering. His mind was fluttering with a thousand thoughts, mostly about that kiss. Her lips...

He touched his own slowly when she wasn't looking.

"But I think tonight was a good night, don't you?"

"_Yes…_ I mean, yes, I do."

"Now that we've done this, they're going to start putting us on a lot more serious missions, you know. We might actually have to use those handguns soon."

"Really?"

"Yes, believe it or not." 

They were silent until they came to Crimsontree. It was Niles' turn again to go fill out the report form. "Bye Niles. Say hello to Denise for me."

"Goodnight, Daphne. I will."

_And she'll be interested to hear about this._


	6. Chapter 6

As Niles walked into Denise's office, she was running her fingers through her bright hair. Slowly, she reached out and straightened a picture frame on her desk. He cleared his throat to catch her attention.

"Uh, good evening Niles. How did everything go tonight?"

"Splendidly."

She smiled involuntarily. "I see. Do you mind it I ask-"

He made sure the door was shut before he spoke. "Daphne kissed me."

"She _what?" _

"She didn't mean it. She was merely kissing me under false pretenses to cover up our true identities. But it…I've never…" Niles raised his hands, as if trying to pull the words he was trying to find out of the air.

"I understand," Denise said. "No need to say another word, Niles. Are you going to tell her?"

"When the time is right."

"Be careful, please. I know I told you that you shouldn't wait if you are going to tell her, and while I still think that's true, I don't know if you-"

She leaned around her desk and looked to see if anyone was directly outside. "Niles, I'm going to tell you something now, and you have to promise-" She stopped again. "No, no, I'm sorry. I-I have trouble with the whole being professional thing. I mean, when it's with my superior or someone I don't know it's okay, but when someone at work becomes like a friend, I just…"

"It's all right, you can tell me, Denise. If it makes you feel better, I can be your psychiatrist for a moment and anything you say will be kept in the utmost confidence."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "About three years after I became an agent, I was assigned a partner, a man named Thomas. From the first time I met him, I was in love with him. It was the first and only time I had ever really been in love. I don't know hardly anything about attraction or love or anything. But this…I knew. And I didn't tell him for six months, and we had developed a good relationship. Then one night we were sitting in a restaurant downtown, and I blurted out everything to him, how I felt and how he made me feel, everything!" Denise hadn't meant to shout, and she prayed no one had heard her outside this room. "He told me that I had acted inappropriately, left me there to sit alone, and when I came into work the next day he had requested to switch partners."

Niles looked at her blankly, not knowing what to say. "That's terrible," was all he said.

"Please don't let that happen to you," she said. "Don't meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and then make a mistake like I did. Niles, don't you understand? These things don't work! Stuff between two agents…" She sighed. "If it were anyone else but you and Daphne, and if I didn't see how crazy you obviously are about her, I would...give you a different partner. I haven't been able to say these things to you for a while, but please listen. Niles, you can't let anyone know about your feelings for her. If anyone finds out, I could get in trouble and you and Daphne could be separated, maybe permanently. I don't want that to happen."

Niles's head was spinning. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Because, Niles. I'm an outgoing person when it comes to business, but like I said, when an agent becomes close…it's hard for me. And only recently did I realize how obvious it is." She smiled.

"Is it really?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"_Very. _Tone it down maybe, just a little?"

He chuckled. "I'll do my best."

Denise laughed too, although she didn't know why.

"I just have one more question," Niles said. "Do you think I should pursue her at all, and are you still holding on to the idea that I need to do so before we build a real friendship?"

"I know you don't want to hear this, Niles, but I think it's too late."

"What?"

"I've seen the way she's been interacting with you lately. You're already friends."

Niles was getting rather frustrated. "Then what _do _you want me to do?"

"I don't know, Niles!" she yelled, and her head collapsed in her hands. After a few seconds, she raised it back up.

"We need to work," she said.

"Right."

She handed him the form, like usual, and he proceeded to fill it out. When he was done, he gave it back to her; then shook her hand. "Goodnight, Denise. I've enjoyed our dialogue. And I'm sorry about everything. This isn't something in which I should be putting so much pressure on you."

"It's okay, Niles. You're not the one making me worry about it. That's my fault. I'm glad I was finally able to tell you everything. Oh, and…goodnight."

Niles left her office, turned in his gun, and then left the building.

* * *

As Daphne lie in bed, thoughts washed over her like a strong, seductive wave. Her mind had been overflowing with thoughts ever since she had kissed Niles, which she still couldn't believe she had actually done. Surely there were other things she could have carried out to have made those men believe they were a couple. No, she had to choose the more up close and personal option, the kiss.

It wasn't so much awkward for her as she was certain it was for him. They way he had felt when she had first put her lips on his…

She wasn't really concerned about that, thought. Niles understood. What she was concerned about was when he kissed _her. _

Daphne was convinced that he wasn't pretending.

What she had felt, what she had experienced, was not flat, bland, and without feeling. What he had returned to her was full of passion and perhaps love. She could still remember the way his hands had felt as they dragged themselves across her back, and that moment when his eyes had clamped themselves shut. He had wanted more when she let go, Daphne was sure of it.

Her gut tightened with nervousness thinking about it. Could he…love her? Had he somehow fallen for her in the weeks they had been working together?

That couldn't happen. It just couldn't. If that were true, it would be the very definition of unprofessionalism. She didn't want to know what would happen if it was fact.

Yet, someway it crept under her skin and intoxicated her. Niles could love her. A sweet, handsome man like Niles could love her and find her beautiful. She bit her lip to keep from smiling.

_No, _she told herself. _I'm not going to do this. That kiss never happened. You never had any of these thoughts. Close your eyes, go to sleep, and forget about him for now._

But as time moved on, that proved impossible.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few weeks were interesting for Niles, to say the least. Each time he was in the office with Daphne, he found himself following certain rules.

_Don't stare at her. Don't smell her. Don't pay her too many compliments. _

There were others, but those were the main ones. All of them were too hard for Niles. How could he look at her with out letting his eyes linger? How could he catch a whiff of her scent without taking it in fully? How could he not tell her she looked beautiful when the sight of her made his heart expand?

He got used to it. As time passed the rules got easier to comply with; however, when they were alone it was a different story. He was himself again, and he acted like he usually did around her, like an idiot.

Although he didn't know, Daphne noticed. By now she had had everything figured out. Niles was being smart, she realized, by trying to hide his feelings from the other agents.

No question, in the last few weeks she had fallen hard for him. Flattering words had never meant so much from her when they came from Niles's mouth. She loved hearing them. They made her feel wonderful and beautiful, and the way he looked at her when he said them made her fall deeper in love with him. Part of her wanted to tell him that, but there was no telling where that would lead. It was strange for her to think that they loved each other, yet nothing was being done about it and Niles didn't even know.

Their missions had become more dangerous as of late. Daphne had had to use her gun a few times. Niles had drawn his but never shot it. He had to admit to himself that he was still nervous around such a thing, even though he knew the proper way to use it and Daphne constantly assured him that there was nothing to worry about.

One night, Denise told Niles and Daphne that the mission they were about to embark on would be the most dangerous they had ever endured. They would be in a room full of rich scam artists who, according to her, would do anything to keep themselves quiet. Several people affiliated with them had gone missing in the past six months, and a few had turned up dead. The very thought made Niles nervous, but Daphne reassured him that everything would be fine.

There would be no recording devices this time; there was too much risk in that. Everything would have to be taken by memory, and as far as they knew there would be a lot to remember about this operation.

Niles went to pick Daphne up, and once he had gotten to her building, he noticed her standing there in a beautiful champagne colored dress. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her as she walked in front of the car and around to the passenger's side. "Hello, Niles," she said, her heart racing at the way he was looking at her.

"Good evening, Daphne. You look…you look so…"

"Yes?"

_Breathtaking. Stunning. Ravishing. Perfect._

"Beautiful."

"Thank you, Niles," she said with a genuine smile.

On the drive over, Daphne sat there thinking about what hung in the atmosphere between them. There was a slight air of tension, but mostly there was a scent of sweetness and good feelings between the two, unlike other relationships Daphne had been in. She looked over at Niles and felt the inside of her contract at how good-looking he was. This had not been her first time to notice that either.

When they arrived, they parked at the back of the building and got out of the car. They walked up next to the building and stopped as usual to relay their plan in hushed voices.

"Who are we this evening, Daphne? And of what relation are we?"

"We're…married. Husband and wife."

"Really," said Niles softly.

"Yes. I'm Arlene Bryant and you're Joshua."

"Married," Niles repeated. "We've never done that before."

"No, we haven't, have we?"

That was when they noticed that they were standing so close that their bodies were almost touching. Niles felt nervous and tense. He looked at Daphne's lips and something told him that it would be okay if he were to kiss her, that somehow, everything would be fine and she would not mind. His feelings at that moment didn't leave much room for thought over the subject.

Slowly, he inched forward and so did Daphne, until their lips were touching, but just barely. Everything happened in slow motion. Their eyes were closed, their lips parted, but it was not a kiss. The tips of their lips were merely touching each other's, their breath interlocking and becoming one. Somehow, it did not seem right in either of their minds to kiss as agents, knowing they had a job to do, but this was acceptable, since it wasn't what one would consider an actual kiss. A bystander would have found it extremely awkward, but they were enjoying it. Daphne moved her head down so that her top lip collided with Niles' bottom one as she did, then moved it back up again so that they brushed against each other again. Niles had probably never enjoyed something so much in his life. This was better than the real kiss that Daphne had given him a few weeks ago.

Daphne all of a sudden smiled and whispered, "Niles?"

He didn't open his eyes. "Yes, Daphne?"

"We have a job to do."

"Right," he said, opening his eyes and moving away from her.

Daphne grabbed Niles' hand and they began to walk towards the door.

* * *

**Author's note: I must thank BaronessBlixen for giving me the idea to have Niles and Daphne masquerade as husband and wife!**


	8. Chapter 8

Walking hand in hand with Daphne made Niles feel like he might be dreaming. Everything was so surreal. What had just happened?

_Daphne wants me!_

He thought again.

_Perhaps not. Perhaps we just got caught up in the moment._

_How am I supposed to know? By asking her?_

He didn't have much of a choice. He began to turn the words he was going to say to her over and over in his mind until finally he got the nerve to say them.

"Daphne—"

"Shh, we're almost at the door." Then suddenly, as if knowing what he was going to ask, she stopped and turned towards him. "We'll talk about this later."

He nodded. "Right."

Once they got inside, they didn't let go of each other's hands, but grasped them tighter. Niles was extremely nervous.

"Loosen up, darling," Daphne said to him. "Relax, it's a wonderful party. I know you're stressed about work, but you have to take tonight for what it is, a chance to unwind and have a good time."

"You're right," said Niles with a smile.

The more they had a look around the more they noticed that everyone had a drink in their hands, and that the bar was hopping. Daphne whispered to Niles, "At least one of us is going to have to take a drink or we'll stand out. Do you want one?"

"Uh…no. No, not tonight."

"All right, then. I'll get one later."

They walked around, talking and acquiring information. This was not a dinner party, but dessert was served. After they had finished, they noticed that music had began to play and couples were getting up to dance.

_You know what you want to do. No one, not even her, would find it strange if you asked her to dance with you. _

"Arlene, would you care to dance?"

Daphne felt her heart leap in her chest. Dance with Niles? There was no saying no to that. "I would love to."

He took hands and they walked over to the congregation of partners swaying in each other's arms. "I'm not much of a dancer," Niles whispered.

"I'm sure you're wonderful," she said. "Don't be shy. It'll be all right."

She took his hand and placed it around her waist, the grasped the other one. Her hand went on his shoulder, and she slowly lead by example and whispered to him what to do. Her eyes were down at their feet, watching his progress. "There now, see? You're doing perfectly, and—"

Daphne put her head up to look at him without knowing how close he was. Their faces were inches from each other, the tips of their noses touching. Their eyes were alight and the rest of the room vanished.

They moved in for a kiss at the exact same time. Daphne's arms went around his neck, his around her waist. This was different from earlier. They weren't Niles and Daphne now, they were Joshua and Arlene. By kissing they weren't teetering on the edge of breaking a rule that could tear them apart from each other. They were fine with the kiss now, it felt right.

Niles's thoughts collapsed. So much had happened in the past two hours, and he didn't know what to make of it. But he did not want it to end.

_So this is what I've been missing._

They parted for a moment, not bothering to move away any other parts of their body. Niles pulled in her in closer and tried to kiss her again, but their lips had only met for a second before she pulled away. She looked at him with sultry eyes and Niles practically died of excitement. "As much as I'd love another one, I'm afraid we might be calling too much attention to ourselves." He knew that she was both being in character and being serious.

"Should-should we dance for a little while longer?" He asked.

"Why not?" She said, smiling, and they did.

As they danced, Niles thought continued to think about what her recently affection with him truly meant. That would have been his main focus if he weren't preoccupied with the feeling of her being in his arms. It was so sweet to hold her this way.

Daphne was thinking along the lines of the same thing. With Niles, she felt safe and warm. Her cheek was against his, and she could feel how hot they both were. "Niles?" she whispered into his ear after a while.

"Yes?"

"I think I'm going to stop for a bit, get a drink maybe."

"All right," he said, and he separated from her. Niles followed Daphne to the bar and watched as she asked for champagne.

_Just like her dress. Although, her dress is much sweeter looking than the drink itself. Or rather, she looks much sweeter in it._

She received it and sipped it slowly.

"How is it?" asked Niles.

"It's got a bit of an aftertaste. I'm not quite sure what it is."

"Hmm."

They walked around for a little while longer. Just as they were leaving a group of people, Daphne finished the last drop.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy. The room began to gently spin like a carousel, and the lights grew dimmer. She found her way to setting down the glass just before she lost her balance and Niles caught her.

"Are you all right?" He said. They were in a place with few people, and Daphne was able to whisper to him.

"Niles, I can't…" She took quick, short breaths. "The…the drink Niles. I think it was the drink."

He began to panic. As nonchalantly as he could he took her out the door, walked behind the building and leaned her against the back wall. Her breathing was still sporadic. He got close to her, putting one hand on her shoulder and one on her cheek.

"Daphne, oh, Daphne, are you going to be okay? What should I…what should I…"

Niles had to keep himself from having a panic attack.

Daphne wanted to tell him what to do, but she found she couldn't talk any longer. Niles decided to do the only thing he knew how to do, to take her to the hospital. He would go under their real names, just make up a story as to what happened. Slowly but as quickly as he could, he helped her into the car and began to drive. She hadn't stopped moving. Her hands moved up and down her thighs and her head move back and forth.

Her beautiful dress sparkled like that awful liquid that had sent her into this in the streetlights as they passed, as did the worried, dreadful tears escaping from his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

When they had reached the hospital, Niles took Daphne to the emergency room and though he wanted to stay by her side, he was asked to stay in the waiting room.

_What if she dies? And even if she doesn't, if her drink was poisoned someone must have found us out. We could be in danger, as could the entire agency… _

Niles's head began to rotate.

_It's my fault. If I had been the one to take the drink instead of her she wouldn't be here._

The tears began to arrive again and he put his head in his hands.

_She might never hear me tell her how much I love her._

_I might never know if she loved me._

He tried to stop thinking. After all, he was acting prematurely. Depending on the drug, it was likely they could save her. There still was a lot of hope that he wasn't grasping onto.

And he wasn't wrong to have those thoughts. After about an hour a nurse came and got him, then took him to a white, sterile room. It looked like a regular patient's quarters. Daphne was laying down on the bed, still in her dress, her eyes closed. The doctor came in and asked him to sit down, and he did.

"Of what relation are you to Miss Moon, sir?" he asked.

"I'm only a friend. A…close friend."

"I see. First off I want to say that you don't have much to worry about. What she ingested is must commonly called crystal pulp, and it's a drug put into drinks that acts as a mild euphoric. It doesn't do any real harm to your body, but you have to ease yourself into drinking it, starting off with a very small dosage and then increasing it, or else it makes you very sick. Uh, you say she drank this at a party?"

Niles couldn't help but look over at Daphne. He felt so sad gazing upon her. "Yes," he finally answered.

"I would guess this was a party with people you weren't familiar with."

"Yes."

"That explains it. It's likely that most everyone there was aware of the drug and you two were not. We see it more often than you'd like to think. Now, I've given her something that should help ease the effects a little. She's half-asleep now, she can actually hear us talking, but once you get her into her own bed she should sleep for a while. Um, does she have any family in town?"

"No."

"Will you be taking care of her, then?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"Unfortunately, her symptoms will last a few days. She'll be throwing up a lot, and she'll be tired. She'll naturally have headaches as well. To help out, she can drink lemon juice. It'll help flush out the system, and the citrus will help with her nausea."

"Straight lemon juice? Is there any other things she should take?"

"There isn't anything we can give her after the preliminary injection. I'm sorry."

Niles sighed. To see her like this for the next few days…he didn't know if he could handle it. Although he was relieved it was nothing serious, he felt terrible for her.

He decided to call his father and brother the next day, so that he could have a little help and support.

Daphne was taken to his car in a wheel chair and carefully placed in the front seat. As he drove to her building, he felt sad at the way she looked. Her unconsciousness didn't look peaceful as if she were sleeping. It looked troubled and very heavy.

"Daphne?" he said softly.

"Niles," she said back.

"How are you?"

"Not too bad. I've felt worse."

She still didn't open her eyes.

"Did you understand what the doctor was saying?" Niles asked.

"Sort of. Can you tell me again?"

After he had finished explaining, she turned her head slightly. "Did anyone see me?"

"Where?"

"At the party? Did anyone see me reacting like that?"

"Don't worry about that now, Daphne." The truth was, he had no idea.

She was silent for the rest of the way. He suspected that the drug she had been given at the hospital was starting to make her sleepy.

Niles parked the car as close to Daphne's building as he could. Once he had, he lifted her up into his arms and shut the door with his foot. It was hard for him to hold her, not because she was heavy but because his arms were not very strong and her body was limp. As soon as he went inside her apartment building he could feel her starting to slip. He pulled her up as hard as he could, took a few steps then automatically fell on his knees. Needless to say, it did not exactly feel pleasant.

He felt discouraged and already beaten up from the roller coaster of a night he had had. Unexpectedly, Daphne raised up her hand, reached it over Niles' shoulder, grasped onto his shirt, and tried to make herself lighter with all the strength that she had. Niles was grateful for this, and it gave him the strength to stand up and take her up to her apartment.

Although he had only been to her apartment one other time, he quickly found the bedroom and laid her down. After taking off her shoes, he pulled back the covers then pushed them back on top of her. He put one hand under her arm and then dragged both hands across it as he took it above the blanket. He did the same with the other arm; then stood back, pleased with his work.

Looking at her, a swirl of emotions flooded him and one question still remained in his mind. He leaned close to her face and whispered, "Daphne, do you…love me? Because I love you."

The words sounded so simple as they came out of his mouth, and he hated himself for them.

But then he heard Daphne whisper, "I do love you, Niles. I love you a lot, I think." 

All of him rejoiced at the words. He brought his lips to her cheek, turned off the light and left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Niles didn't sleep well that evening. Between the couch he rested on, the events of that day, and the startling confession Daphne had made, his mind did not give him much room for sleep. He teetered between utter joy, depression, and stress.

He turned on his side, facing the dimly lit room. He hadn't gone home before lying down on the couch and throwing a blanket over himself, so he was still in his regular clothes. They were guaranteed to be wrinkled in the morning, he knew. Niles passed in and out of sleep, never letting it fully claim him.

When he finally gave up, it was six 'o clock in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. He got up and began to search for something for Daphne and him to eat. Once he had found something, he ate quietly and turned on the television.

At precisely seven AM, he called Frasier, who promised to be there at nine, and his father, who said he'd come straight away. After he hung up, he heard the bathroom door shut. When he looked he discovered Daphne was out of bed. Going into the kitchen, he poured her half a glass of lemon juice and added a little bit of water.

When she left the bathroom, she leaned against the wall and a small whine escaped her throat. Niles set down the glass he was holding and ran to her. "What's the matter, Daphne?" he asked her.

"I feel bloody awful," she said softly. "And I just hurled me guts out."

"Would it help to eat something?"

"Oh, I couldn't eat. But thank you."

"Why don't you change out of your dress and rest."

"All right." Daphne closed her door, and changed into a soft nightgown; then opened up the door again.

Niles couldn't help but stare. Her gown fell a little below halfway up her thigh, but seeing her legs free and slightly unsheathed sent ripples of heat through him. "Mmm, Daphne?" He said, trying to take his attention away from her body.

"Yes?"

"I think you should drink some lemon juice before you go back to sleep."

"All right." She smiled in an exhausted sort of way.

They went into the kitchen and Niles handed her the glass. She drank it down as quickly as she could. The juice punctured her tongue and burned slightly as it ran down her throat. When she was done her face reflected the sharpness of the taste. Her eyes watered and she coughed.

Without warning or real reason, Niles placed his hands on the side of her face. Daphne closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, feeling his caress on her cheeks. As she opened her eyes, he looked at her sweetly. Her eyes were bright and vibrant, the exact opposite of what she was feeling.

"Niles, what are we going to do?" She whispered.

He knew what she was trying to say, and he had been thinking about it ever since the previous evening when they had nearly kissed.

"I don't know, Daphne. But don't worry now."

They were silent for a few long moments, until they went back into Daphne's bedroom. She crawled into bed and put the blanket and sheets over her; then took a deep breath. Niles kissed her forehead as if he were tucking in a child, then closed the door behind him.

About that time, Niles heard a knocking on the door and opened it to reveal Martin. "How are you doing, son?" He asked as he walked inside the apartment.

"As well as can be expected," Niles said. "I need to make a visit home to get a few things. Daphne is in her bedroom resting now."

"Okay. How is she?"

"She's feeling…rather sick."

"Oh, that poor girl. I've never met her, but from the way you talk about her she sounds nice."

"She is nice, Dad," said Niles as he left the apartment.

On the drive over, Niles began to think hard.

_What am I going to do? Daphne loves me. I love her. We can't be together._

He sighed.

_I do wonder if it is appropriate for me to tell Denise. She would help us to keep it a secret, yet I hate to worry her more than I already have._

_The whole world has suddenly become more complicated. Is this what I wanted? I have dreamed of the day that Daphne would tell me that she loved me, and now that she has everything seems wrong. I'm happy, but not as happy as I thought I'd be._

_Perhaps Frasier will know what to do. It's at least worth asking._

At that second, he pulled into the parking lot and went up to his apartment.

He placed a few things in a bag and then changed his clothes. He paused for a moment and looked at himself in the mirror. His face had changed somehow. The look of fatigue was clearly there, but in his eyes there was hope and fear, as well as something deeper he couldn't see. He felt as if his whole body had changed, as if his whole existence had shifted.

Hurriedly, he drove back to Daphne. Although relieved that his father was with her, Niles felt as if it was wrong of him to ever leave her side. When he got there, Daphne and Martin were sitting in the living room talking. She had on a bathrobe now, and she smiled when she saw Niles.

"You never told me about your father, Niles," she said. "He's such an interesting young gent."

Martin laughed. "And you were completely right about Daphne. You weren't exaggerating after all."

"Dad!"

"It's true! And what does it matter anyway? Daphne told me that you guys are a couple now." 

"I didn't say that!" She said.

"Well, you said something like that."

"Daphne, I thought you were going to lay down," Niles said softly, trying to change the subject.

"I was," she began, "but me head…I wasn't exactly feeling up to sleeping."

"All right," said Niles.

"You two better be careful. If anyone finds out about this at the agency—"

"We know, Dad," he said.

All three were silent for a few moments until Daphne said, "Even if I do feel awful, I'm going to try to get me sleep. See you in a little while, Mr. Crane." 

"Bye, Daphne."

"Niles, could you come with me for a minute?" She asked.

He followed her into her bedroom. She took off her robe and climbed into bed, and he came close, sitting next to her.

"Niles, I know I asked you this last night, but did anyone see me—"

"Daphne, please," he took her hands, "your body is tired and you need sleep. Please don't think about work."

"But someone could have seen me and they would know that I'm not used to taking their drinks, and if no one recognized us..."

Niles shushed her softly. "Daphne, even if someone did notice, they don't know where to find us and they'll never know who we work for."

"They could find out," she whispered.

He didn't know what else to say, so he switched off the lamp next to her and removed one of the pillows from under her head. Smoothly, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then, he moved his face close and rested his forehead on hers. "You're safe here, Daphne," he whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."

She smiled. If she moved a little bit she could easily kiss him, but she didn't. There was the block again, the thing that told her that it was not right to kiss him. Perhaps she could sleep if he were next to her. Perhaps she could sleep if she was in his arms.

But she was too afraid to ask. So she watched him turn around, leave the room, and close the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Hello, all! I apologize for the short chapter. That is all, enjoy!**

* * *

Daphne slept until almost lunchtime, and Niles kept careful watch over her. Although it didn't make much sense to do so, he often opened her door softly and peered in at her inquisitively with the hope that she would stay asleep.

Frasier arrived promptly at nine as he promised, bringing along a guest.

"I don't care who she is, I'm not letting a sick woman be taken care of in a house full of men," said Roz Doyle after introductions had been made. Roz was Frasier's newest friend, a woman who worked as a radio producer who had met him the month before.

Martin and Roz hit it off very quickly, exchanging jokes and talking about sports, but Niles was slower to warm up to her. When she was out of earshot, he whispered to Frasier, "Might I ask what compelled you to being _her _here?"

"Oh please, Niles. Just because she's of a lower standing on the social ladder. Would you like Daphne any less if she were, say, a physical therapist?"

"Of course not, I would love her no matter what she did for a living. And that is not why I don't want Roz here. You do understand that we're going to have to make things up about our lives, don't you? Daphne won't truly be able to relax. Besides, isn't she a bit…much?"

"What was I supposed to say to her, Niles, she wanted to help and she has good reason to. Perhaps it's best if Daphne has at least one woman here to help her."

Niles sighed. "Oh, all right." He went over to the couch and sat next to his father.

"So Niles," asked Roz, "Frasier gave me a little description of the story, but what exactly happened to Daphne?"

Frasier and Niles exchanged looks. "Uh…didn't I tell you, Roz?" Frasier said.

"Like I said, you only gave me a brief run-down. You said that she and Niles went to a party and Daphne had a drink, and it turned out there was something in it."

Niles began to make up the rest of the story and told Roz what Daphne's symptoms were. She listened with half-interest. After a few minutes, he got and began to head towards Daphne's bedroom once again.

"Why do you feel the need to keep checking on her every fifteen minutes?" Roz asked.

"Because…because I…need to make sure she's all right."

"You don't have to—"

"I just have to know."

Roz shrugged. "Do what you want, I guess."

Slowly, Niles put his hand on the doorknob to her room, draping his fingers over the round globe. When he had turned it completely, he pushed the door open carefully and peeked through the gap.

She was sleeping perfectly. Niles couldn't help but walk inside the room leaving the door open slightly to get a better look at her. She was asleep on her back, the light coming through her window framing her face and neck. Her long and tangled hair was behind her as it should be, and her eyelashes looked perfectly elongated.

_How can an angel exist on earth?_

He couldn't leave her now. There was no way he could force himself to do it. He walked to the other side of the room, took off his shoes and with as little pressure as possible he sat himself on her bed directly next to her.

_What is falling in love? If this is it, I must have been doing something wrong with every other woman I've ever…_

Niles let his thoughts trail off. Her hand was lying next to her, was calling to him. He reached out his arm and eased his fingers under her hand, the placed his thumb over the back. He laced the fingers from his other arm between hers and with both caressed her hand, then brought it to his lips. Starting at her palm, he went to her wrist, and then the knuckles. Working his way up the fingers, he covered her hand in his kisses.

Niles had practically lost his mind for those moments, so much so that he forgot that Daphne was sleeping. She stirred after a little while, and he immediately peeled his lips from her hand. Her eyes opened softly.

"Niles?" she said.

"Daphne, I am so sorry I disturbed you."

"No, it's all right." She was still lying down with her head against the pillow. "Were you—"

"No," He immediately said, bringing his grip on her hand to an end.

_Yes, I was, because I love you and you're more beautiful than the stars themselves._

"It's all right if you were," she said. Daphne took the same hand he had been holding and picked up his, placing a single kiss on his palm and letting go.

"I love you," Niles blurted.

"You know how I feel, but I don't think we should—"

"You're right. Forgive me for saying that, Daphne. And for last night too…"

"Don't apologize. I love hearing those words. And I love saying them!"

They both sighed. There was no way to fix this.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Niles talked to Daphne about Roz and then left her to go back to sleep, feeling the sadness creep back up into him.


	12. Chapter 12

"Niles! _Niles!"_

The words pulled him awake as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. He felt his feet hit the hardwood floor as he ran to her room.

"Niles! Niles, oh Niles…"

She was crying, and as he came beside her bed to switch on her lamp, she whispered, "Don't."

He didn't. Gathering her in his arms, he placed his lips on the top of her head. "What's wrong, Daphne?"

"It's…me head. Me head, Niles!"

Daphne put her hand on the side of her head and pressed her fingertips against her scalp. Niles eased her hand away and whispered, "I'll be right back. Let me get you something." Going into the kitchen, he filled a glass with water and took aspirin tablets out of their container, then brought them to her. She took them quickly and lay back down.

"Are you all right now?"

She didn't say or do anything. She wanted Niles to stay with her; she needed him. Yet she couldn't get the words out.

Somehow he read her mind. He plopped down next to her and wrapped her in his arms. Daphne felt her eyelids grow heavy and the darkness around her sink in. It was easy to feel his pajamas against her cheek.

She was much too tired to think, much too tired to act, and much too tired to tell Niles that they shouldn't do this. Besides, it felt much to wonderful there to raise a word against it. As she drifted into sleep, she felt her headache disappear and the sweet wrap of arms around her intensify.

He left after he knew she was asleep. Getting up from the bed, he went back to the couch and slept until dawn.

* * *

Daphne healed quicker than Niles had expected. In the following days, Denise came to visit, Frasier came in and out, Martin was always there, and Roz showed up when she wasn't working. She and Daphne became friends, and unbeknownst to Niles she told her everything about her relationship with him.

Life resumed as usual after that. Niles and Daphne went back to work, dealing with a wide array of cases from making visits to businesses as supervisors to attending highbrow auctions to see if any of the items being sold happened to be illegal.

Niles began to think that life was as it should be, that this is how things were going to happen for a long time, and he was happy about that. He loved being with Daphne, holding her hand when no one was looking, and putting on a disguise with her.

On one cloudy and cool day, Denise called in Niles and Daphne to her office. Her hands were flighty, so they new something big was happening. As they came in and sat down, she tried to fold her hands and put them on her desk, concentrating hard. "Hello Niles, hello Daphne," she said.

They greeted her in kind, and she spoke up again. "I just…I needed to ask you two something. I know the last time you went on a more dangerous mission, something bad happened. Now, I'm asking you to go on another mission like that, only much, much worse. Would…would you be able to do that?"

Niles looked at Daphne, and she nodded. "I think we'll be all right."

"Great." Denise smiled. "You'll be going to a meeting in an office building on the edge of town, The AngelLight Corporation. We already know what they do there. Actually, they're a nationwide company that sends out their own spies, but for different functions. Their so-called "agents" are hand-picked employees from government circles that are hired for a large sum of money to be their informants. Over the years they've selected hundreds of people to do their work and have succeeded in obtaining God knows how much top-secret information. We fear, in time, they will have enough knowledge to take over the treasury, or maybe even take hold of the entire country."

They all sat in silence for a little while until she started up again. "The reason this is so dangerous is that people have heard about it, criminals we aren't able to catch. They would do anything to get in on the secret that this corporation has, and some will stop at nothing to get it." She paused. "We're going to need you two to be on the scene that evening, and one of you will go in and witness the meeting, and the other will cover their back. We'll have our agents close at hand outside the building in case anything goes wrong. Again, I'll ask you, and I'll understand if you say no. Are you up to this?"

"Yes," said Daphne. "We are." She and Niles exchanged looks of anticipation.

* * *

A week later, Niles and Daphne were dressed fancily as always, and Niles felt like he could throw up at any minute. He had never been so nervous in his entire life. He wondered if Daphne felt the same way, because if she did it didn't show. They walked slowly to the main meeting room, number D944, and when they had gotten there, they stopped outside, looking at each other. "I think you should be the one to go in, Daphne."

"Niles, I'm always the one to do the difficult things, and I don't mind, but you need to do things like this too. Otherwise, you won't be very well rounded."

"That's okay. I don't need to be well rounded as an agent. I didn't ask for this assignment, Daphne!"

She shushed him and grabbed his hand. "But it all worked out wonderfully in the end, right?"

"Mmm, yes."

"And so will this. Niles, you're going to be fine. I'll be in this hallway, just right here if you need me. And remember there's a button you can push on you if you need backup."

"Okay, Daphne. I suppose you're right."

She nodded. Niles took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked in.

He signed in with the name he was given and took a seat. The meeting room was really like an indoor amphitheater. As soon as one entered, they could see the entire room. In the front was a small hardwood floor with a streamlined podium, and everything else was raised with comfortable-looking red chairs. He took a seat, leaned his head against the headrest, and sighed. The sick feeling rose up in him again and he bit his lip, trying to remember Daphne's words.

It soothed him, but only temporarily. Within seconds, he was flying towards the bathroom, and once he had gotten there and realized it was empty, he fell on his hands and knees and breathed sporadically. Why couldn't he stand? He should have had Daphne do this…

The cool tile rested on the side of his face and he felt trapped. There was no way he could leave. There was no way he could handle the information he was about to receive, and having someone see him exit out the door in the meeting room would look painfully suspicious. There was no other choice but for him to stay in here, yet what if someone saw? Quickly, he discovered a lock on the swinging door to the bathroom. He wasn't quite sure why it needed to be there, but he locked it and hid under the sink.

Niles felt like such a coward. How could he do this? He should have never been an agent anyways, what had Denise been thinking? Laying on his side, he forgot that he was rubbing his suit on the floor of a bathroom and hugged his knees to his chest. He wanted Daphne; he wanted the woman he loved. Somehow she could make everything better if she were here, he knew it. She'd be disappointed when she found out that he had crumbled. What would he even say to her?

This bathroom was a prison. There was nowhere to escape, nowhere to run.

He stayed for a long time. No one tried to get in the bathroom, thankfully, and he was left in peace. The window in the corner with the tinted glass got his attention after a while. He hadn't thought about using it to get out and go back around to get Daphne, but now it seemed the only logical thing to do. But to face her again…

What was he thinking? There was no other choice.

He unlocked the door and opened the window slowly, sliding his legs over it and closing it behind him. No one saw him as he went around to the front of the building, saw where they had parked Daphne's car, and entered again. He began to rehearse what he was going to say to her as he walked through the halls, looking for her.

But he didn't see anything.

There were no people in the corridors, and he was afraid to call her name. "Hello?" He managed to say, knowing she would recognize his voice.

Suddenly, he heard a sort of faint squeal, and he stopped in his tracks. "Hello?" Niles called again, this time louder and more desperate.

The squeal came again, a short, sharp sound like from a pig. Forgetting where he was, he suddenly blurted out, "Daphne?"

And that was when he saw it. Down the hall, a door was open, and large locks of dark, shining brown hair were on the floor coming out of it. He stole down to that door as fast as he could, and just after seeing Daphne on the floor with tape over her mouth and plastic ties around her wrists, something hit his head and knocked him to the ground, his entire body surrendering to darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

Niles was in and out of the blackness as it curled around him. He was half awake and half entranced, blessed with the vague realization that something as terribly wrong, yet what was it?

And he awoke in the same fashion, confusion without any bliss. As his eyes adjusted, it dawned on him where he was. It was a cafeteria, the largest place in the entire building. It was alight with fluorescence, and all the lights in the kitchen were turned on. It was eerie, odd, as if people were supposed to be there but they had all disappeared without warning. He was tied to a chair, he realized, with thick red ropes. All of it was like a movie, something he thought would never happen to him.

"Rise and shine."

It was the voice of a younger man, but in his disorient he couldn't tell where it was coming from. That was when he felt the hands come down on the top of his shoulders. "I hope you're comfortable."

"Where's Daphne?" Niles asked.

"Oh, is that her name? Didn't know that. Suits her though. You should have seen her try to cover up why she was hanging around in the hallway." Niles still could not see the man. "Who are you?" he said. "Why don't you tell me your name?"

"I don't know you. And _what have you done with Daphne?"_ Niles was speaking from someplace deep down; using a voice he didn't know existed.

"Well, you're never going to know me if I don't know your name. What is it?"

"Where is she?"

The man laughed and stepped in front of Niles for the first time. He had flaming red hair and was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. His arms intimidated Niles with their acute thickness. _"What is your name?" _He screamed.

The detained party hesitated, and then said softly, "Niles."

"Well, Niles, you can call me Victor."

"I'm going to ask you again—"

"Yeah, yeah I know. Where's Daphne, right? I can do one of two things, I can tell you were she is, or I can show you where she is."

"Show me."

Victor smiled. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Bring her in!" He shouted to a door in the far corner. Niles heard it being unlocked and then it opened to reveal two men holding Daphne's arms as the ties bound her wrists. The tape on her mouth had been undone. She sent Niles a look of worry.

"Everything will be all right, Daphne," he said to her. "Everything will be all right."

One of the men locked the door again and they both walked about ten feet in front of Niles.

"All right, the fair and lovely Daphne. Just sit down right there, right in front of Mr. Niles, and we'll just see how this all turns out." She sat down according, the men still right next to her. "Niles, I know you were in that meeting. I know what you and she work for, and I know you heard things. I just want to know what, that's all. That's not so terrible. Just a few little words and you and Daphne get out of here."

"What if I don't tell you?"

Victor's eyes glazed over. Without saying anything, he snapped his fingers and one of the men beside Daphne took out a knife and slashed her shin. Niles's chair jerked forward as he saw what happened. She tried not to cry out as the blood dripped down her leg and down to her foot. "That's what happens," said Victor with a smile.

Niles was terrified and speechless, infuriated and shocked. "I don't know anything. I was a coward and I hid in the bathroom the entire time."

"That's an excellent story. Might want to write that one down sometime, but right now _I don't want STORIES!" _Victor yelled. "I want the truth, and so does she and you do too. You don't want to see this pretty face all bruised, do you?" He walked over to Daphne and put a hand on her chin. "That's what it's going to look like if you don't tell me. All purple and red. Bloody. Like a little plum."

"You get your hands off her now!"

"That's funny, because what you say means nothing unless it's what I want to hear."

"If you hurt her, I swear…"

"Swear what, Niles?"

"I'll kill you."

"Kill me? Come on, Niles. That's a little harsh, especially for you. Look at that body; it's not really much, is it? And what weapons have you got? We took your gun. Me, now I lift weights and run on a regular basis. So, to shoot that rabbit after we've chased it, you won't be killing me."

"Wanna bet?"

"Let's forget about that for now. All that really matters is what I need to know."

"Don't tell him, Niles!" Daphne said, speaking for the first time.

"Tell me, Niles!"

"I don't know. I wasn't there."

"I'm going to ask you again."

"I don't know."

"I'll give you one more try."

His heart raced. What was he to say? He couldn't let Daphne get hurt, and yet he didn't know what he could tell them.

"…I don't know."

"That's a shame, then." He looked at the men by Daphne, nodded once, and sat on the floor next to Niles.

Niles watched the next few moments in slow motion as they began to cut and beat her mercilessly, throwing their firsts at her face, chest, stomach, while she tried to get away. Their hands and feet were too tight for her to escape, and her sobs rang through the entire room. Niles screamed her name, curses, and just in general, the tears spouting from his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped and Daphne lay, barely breathing, still weeping. They took her by her hands, not bothering to pick her up, and walked out of the room and out of Niles' sight.

Victor was still next to Niles on the floor. "Ready to tell me? If you do, I'll let you go and get her."

Niles, in an act of desperation and thoughtlessness, tipped his chair over with his feet and landed on top of Victor, kicking him with all his might and wiggling to get out of the ropes. It was the most insane thing he had ever done, but in the frenzy, he pressed the button to let the other agents know there was trouble with his chin, surprised they hadn't found it.

His restraints loosened and he slipped out of them. Victor was already to his feet and Niles fought his way out of the situation, escaping to the door when he had a free moment and running down the hall as fast as he could knowing he was being chased. He could hear agents running around now, but there was no telling how many people Victor had hired out, not to mention the people that had been in the meeting.

And where was Daphne? He slowed down for a moment to try to think about where she might be.

That was when someone jumped on him from behind. "No, no…you're not getting out that easily."

"Back here!" Yelled Niles, and soon he had reinforcements.

He was free in a short time, but soon after that gunshots rang out, and he saw agents taking cover. Terrified, Niles began to look through every meeting room to find Daphne, running around like crazy.

Finally, he found her, her beaten body on a conference table. Seeing her send pains through his whole body. "Daphne…I'm here now. You're going to be okay."

He knew what he had to do, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to it. He picked her up just like when she had been barely conscious after drinking the champagne. He began to walk down the hall like normal, still hearing the sound of a gun, his quivering arms finding it difficult to hold her.

Just as on that night, he felt her core tighten as she tried to help him.

When he finally had reached the main hallway, agents were lined up, crouched down. Niles knew what he needed to do, get her out the door and to safety, but that perhaps would prove difficult. Peering down the hall to check for intruders, he got the sign from an agent to go, and he ran with all the speed he had towards the door.

Then, out of nowhere, he was tackled again and he couldn't feel Daphne anymore. There were more gunshots and vaguely he saw her, a hand around her stomach, being dragged away while the other arm pointed it at anyone who dared to move.

Panic and terror gripped him and he tried to call out, but no sound came. Lying there, everything caught up with him, and again he found himself gone, unconscious to the world around him.


	14. Chapter 14

As Daphne's swollen eyes opened, light entered them. She felt terrible. Every part of her body hurt and her head felt nauseous.

When she looked around the room, she saw nothing but a window with no curtains, no blinds, and a view that consisted of a forest. She was lying in a small bed, and she could feel the bare mattress against her legs. No sheets.

A pillow without a case supported her head, and a soft blue blanket covered her body. Raising her arm, she saw the cuts, the bruises that she could vividly remember getting.

But where was she now? The last thing she remembered was being in Niles' arms as he carried her out of the place where she had been attacked. He had held her so tightly and she had felt so safe there, resting inside of his arms. What had happened?

She was no longer with Niles, that was certain. He would never have let the injuries that abounded on her body go untreated; he never would have let her sleep in a bed without sheets.

That meant he was gone.

For all Daphne knew, Niles could have been dead.

There was a door at the far end of the room. If she wanted to know where she was…

Slowly, carefully, she swung her legs over the bed to reveal that she was still wearing the navy blue dress; then began to put weight on them. It didn't work. Her legs gave in in a short instant. She fell back into bed and covered herself up.

For the first time, she truly began to think.

She was being held hostage.

That was the only explanation, the only way any of this could be happening. Something had happened, Niles had lost her.

Daphne tried to roll over, but the pain from her ribcage that followed was unbearable. She bit her tongue to keep from calling out and set herself on her back again. A few of her ribs were obviously broken. How many other parts of her had been damaged?

Without warning, she began to sob miserably. She tried to keep herself quiet, but would it really matter if anyone heard her?

She forgot about everything and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Niles woke to grayness sliding in through the window and tough silence, confused and tormented. He was still in his clothes, his mind foggy. He got out of bed, holding to the hope that when he went into his living room she would be there.

That's when he remembered what had happened the evening before, how she had been hurt and the last thing he had seen before passing out. He was scared, worried. He opened his door and went out.

Frasier, Martin, and Denise were sitting in silence when he came in.

"Hey, Niles," said Martin. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Of course it is. Daphne's resting at the hospital, isn't she? You were able to..."

Denise shook her head. "We weren't. Niles, Daphne's missing."

"No, no, she couldn't be…"

"I'm so sorry, Niles."

"You let her get away?" He raised his voice at her. "You let them take her?"

"There was nothing we could do, he had a gun, and she could have been killed."

Niles sat down on the couch, his head in his hands. "I need her."

Everyone sat in silence for a little while as it terrorized them. "I need her," he said again, beginning to cry. "She could be dead, and oh, her wounds, there'll be no one to take care of her."

Frasier got up and put a hand on Niles, not saying anything.

"Thank you all for being here, but at the moment I would like to be by myself," Niles said.

"We understand," said Martin, and the three left.

Niles stayed in the gray, dark apartment, lying on the couch, his entire body in agony.

* * *

That night, he lie awake for hours, thinking about her. She could be anywhere, doing anything. He had never felt pain quite like this. It had been terrible when his mother died, but this was a different sort of pain. Being caught between knowing and not knowing was terrible. There was no way he could tell himself what to feel.

When he finally drifted into sleep, his mind did not go free. It stayed in a dark place full of worry and fear, and he couldn't run away from it, until he saw Daphne. She was sitting beside him in bed, the lights in the room still not turned on. Light came in from the window and lit up her face. She was unharmed, safe, and beautiful as always.

He called out her name and reached out to touch her face, but she caught his hand in hers. "Shh, Niles."

"Daphne…"

"Yes?"

"Daphne, where are you?"

"Hush now, doesn't matter where I am. It just matters that I'm here now." She spread her hands across his chest, leaned in and kissed him. Niles moaned softly, speaking with her lips still on his.

"Daphne…where are you? I need to know where you are."

She lifted her head and laid it back down on his chest. "I can't tell you where I am."

"Why not?"

"You know why not. I'm just your imagination. I'm just your dream."

"Don't say that, my love."

She laughed. "You know I'm not lying."

He shut his eyes tight. "Oh, there's so much I want to know. I don't know what to do, Daphne."

"Well, I know what we usually do," she whispered, running her fingers along the buttons of his pajamas.

"If I could just know that you were alive."

"I could tell you that I was, would that help?"

"Perhaps."

"I am alive."

"Thank God, Daphne!" He pressed his hands against her back, and then smelled and kissed her hair. "You know I love you. I love you so much."

"So do I."

"I'll go crazy if you don't come back soon."

She ran her fingers down his face and he closed his eyes. "I have to go now," she said.

"Just one last kiss."

She lifted herself back up and kissed him once more, his hands finding her hair and smoothing it softly. After a long while, she moved away and said, "I really need to leave now."

Niles felt hopeless and saddened, and he began to cry. "No, my love, please…"

"I don't have any choice," she said, dipping into his tear with her thumb. "I'm so sorry."

And that was when his eyes opened, his face wet from crying in his sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Victor York was now in custody, although rather unhelpful. On the question of Daphne's whereabouts he said nothing, and when asked anything else he gave obscure, almost meaningless answers. This went on for three days until he asked to see Niles, saying that he'd talk if he were speaking to him. He was more than willing to oblige.

On his way to the prison, Niles imagined things to say to him, things to ask him. He'd make him pay for this if it killed him.

The room they were meeting in was much like an interrogation room, with a two-way mirror in which Denise would be sitting behind, as well a few other superior agents.

Police officers told him they'd be right outside in case anything happened, and Niles was comforted, not just for his safety, but also for the things he might do if he went unsupervised.

Victor was already there when he stepped inside the room. "Thanks for coming, Niles," he said. "I'm very glad you're here."

"I want to know where she is."

"So does everyone."

Denise watched from behind the glass, her fingers in her mouth, scared about what Niles might do and what the other party might say to him. It was nerve-racking.

"Well, do you know where she is?" Niles asked.

Victor said nothing for a moment, then said, "I might."

"Do you?"

"That depends. Do you really know what was said in that meeting?"

"I don't."

Denise sighed. She knew Niles was telling the truth, she had talked to him about it.

"Then I don't know where she is."

"You do!"

"Do I?"

Niles slammed a hand on his forehead. "Don't you understand I'm in _hell?" _He asked him. "Don't you understand? I don't know anything because I'm a coward and I was too afraid to go to that meeting. I can't tell you what you want to know."

"Then get me someone who can. Or else she stays wherever she is, and oh, believe me Niles, you don't want her to be there."

"What?"

"If you think about it, all her wounds are going to get worse, going untreated like that. Everything that hurts is just going to get worse."

"Shut up."

"I'm just doing this for you," he said. "You know, I'm not really in charge of what's happening to her. I don't know what's going on. Truth is, I hired someone to…see over her. Someone who knows a lot about what he does, and let me tell you, Niles…even I couldn't bear to spend time with him."

"Shut up!"

"I would move quickly if I were you."

"Why are you doing this? Why couldn't you have just taken me and tortured me into getting what you wanted?"

"Oh Niles, in my short life I've learned one thing. Love is stronger than pain. And you do love her, don't you?"

Niles was speechless. Denise slammed her hand against the window without thinking. Her boss was behind her, looking at her.

"And I don't mean friendship, I don't mean, 'we work together and we're really close.' I mean _love. _It never gets passed me. I've seen it too many times to count. It's funny, though, I thought agents couldn't work together if there was something romantic going on between them. Maybe you were trying to keep that a secret."

Niles didn't know what to say, and neither did Denise. Agent Aaronson, her boss, put a hand on her shoulder. "Did you know about this?" He asked in his gentle way. "Is this true?"

"Yes," she whispered. "It's true."

* * *

Victor was done speaking after that, and Niles and Denise were taken back to Crimsontree to talk to Agent Aaronson.

Denise went first, nervous as she had ever been. She stepped into his office and sat in one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk. She looked for something to straighten, but found absolutely nothing, so she squeezed her hands together and placed them on her lap.

Agent Aaronson was an older, wiser man who had known Denise for as long as she had been working at Crimsontree. "Agent Ellis," he said, "please tell me why you thought it a good idea to make Niles Crane an agent."

"Because I thought he was a good man. He always has been, and I thought with his social-world experience he could be an asset to us."

"I won't disagree with you, but not everyone is entitled to be an agent because they are a good person with special skills."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. You overestimated him, it was a mistake easily made."

"So are you going to move him back to being a therapist?"

"I believe so."

They were silent for a few short moments until Agent Aaronson spoke up again. "And now, about Agent Crane's relationship with Agent Moon—"

Denise turned her head down and suddenly found herself fighting tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Tell me what happened."

"I introduced them as partners, and…I saw the way he was looking at her…and he told me that he thought she was beautiful…"

"Denise…"

"And she figured it out, and now…"

"Are they a couple?"

"They love each other, but they're not dating."

"Denise, why didn't you—"

"I'm sorry," she said loudly, the tears wrenching from her throat.

"You got caught up in the romance, didn't you?" He said softly. "You wanted them to be together."

"Yes," she sobbed, "yes, yes."

"Oh Denise," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right, my dear." He spoke to like he spoke to his daughters. "You've made a mistake. You should have come to me and let me handle it, but you're young. At the age of the three of you, life is about finding love and excitement."

She began to calm down. "Are you…going to punish me?"

"I would, but somehow I think this visit of ours has been punishment enough."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him before she left the office.

* * *

When Daphne woke up, it was dark and rainy outside. She looked near the door and very faintly saw two bottles of water and an apple, just like yesterday and the day before. It wasn't much, but the hunger tearing at her stomach and her dry throat were enough to motivate her to get it.

Slowly, she put her feet on the floor and stood up. Her legs were weak and sore, and although walking hurt, she managed to get what she needed and sat back on the bed. She drank half the water bottle at one time and began to take small bites of the apple. It didn't do much for her hunger, but it was something, and her throat was satisfied.

Lying back down, she began to think about escape. It had been crossing her mind these past few days. Although it hurt to even think about running, she explored the possibility that it might be her only hope. She sat up again and moved to the edge of the mattress, looking at the window. It was small and, she realized, it didn't open.

The door was another possibility. Carefully, she moved across the floor to it and placed her hand on it. It was unlocked somehow. She opened it slowly, her heart racing. When she saw no one directly outside it, Daphne put her head out the door and looked both ways down the hall. She saw nothing but white walls, a carefully laid wooden floor, and a door at the end of one side.

She crept out the door, closing it behind her, and went to the end of the hallway, carefully pulling it ajar and leaving it open for a moment. The scene before her was terrifying, pitch darkness except for the tops of the trees moving against the sky. Rain soaked the concrete steps beneath her and began to get her wet, washing away dried blood on her skin.

Beginning to run, she felt the cold grass beneath her bare feet and the pain in her chest from breathing hard. The wind moved through her hair like a passing stream and cool passed her neck. She ran to the trees, planning to take refuge there until she had a better plan.

But she was stopped by an acute sound that knocked her to the ground. _"Hey!"_

Daphne didn't recognize the voice, but it was enough to send her bounding back to the house, her wet feet sliding on the slick floor until she had reached her room again. She closed the door quickly and fell back into bed, where she covered up her body, which was shivering, even though nothing was cold. She felt scared, lost, and alone. Pulling up the blanket, she covered her head and waited to feel dawn again.


End file.
